S.F. Dog Lovers Bark Back / Fort Funston Rally To Protest New Rules

Angelica Pence, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, April 6, 2001

Hundreds of dog owners and their four-legged companions are expected to converge on Fort Funston at 11 a.m. tomorrow to protest what they say are the rapidly diminishing rights of dog owners in federally run parks in San Francisco.

Late Wednesday, park employees began posting signs throughout Fort Funston, Ocean Beach and other parks in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, notifying dog walkers to keep their pets leashed while on park grounds or face a $50 fine.

The new rule, which goes into effect immediately, has dog owners biting mad.

"Dogs have been allowed to run off their leash at Fort Funston and Ocean Beach for more than four decades," said Lydia Boesch, a San Francisco attorney representing some of the dog owners. "Our dogs have done nothing wrong. We've done nothing wrong. They (the Park Service) are the ones that are wrong."

In February, a lawsuit by dog owners challenging federal park officials' closure of 12 acres of Fort Funston was thrown out by U.S. District Judge William Alsup. Since then, the dog walkers have promised to return to court with a beefed-up suit.

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The signs, protesters say, are being put up despite the Park Service's commitment to dog owners in late January to negotiate a leash policy over a 120-day period.

The agency's latest move "makes it difficult for us to negotiate," said Linda McKay, a member of the Fort Funston Dog Walkers. "Now, we're going to be begging for mere scraps, whereas before we had much more bargaining power."

But Roger Scott, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said that the agency is merely complying with federal law and that negotiations are still continuing. This after agency representatives will be meeting with several dog-walker groups to discuss the newly erected signs.

Meanwhile, Scott said it will be up to the discretion of the ranger on duty weather to fine the owners of dogs without leashes.

"We won't be going out there citing everyone we see that has their dog off a leash," Scott said. "We'll be stressing education and outreach, working with the dog walkers to let them know about the new regulations."

The dog owners' new suit, which is expected to be filed within two weeks, will outline various flaws in the National Park Service's planning and management of the coastal region, according to Joseph Breall, who also represents the dog owners.

It will also accuse the federal agency of failing to adopt legally required plans to promote urban recreation and preserve national resources, as well as fencing off previously public areas and altering vegetation without proper environmental review.

Alsup has said the dog owners will have to put forth new challenges in the suit, rather than amending their old suit.

To that end, the dog owners have asked the city of San Francisco to join them in their battle. Their champion, Supervisor Leland Yee, has asked the city attorney to look into legal action that might overturn the closure.

"The National Park Service absolutely, totally disregarded the needs of San Franciscans when they summarily decided to close off those acres," Yee said.

Alsup's ruling followed his earlier decision that allowed the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to close 12 acres of oceanfront cliffs to protect native vegetation and nesting bank swallows. The cliffs make up part of a 230- acre park in the southwest corner of San Francisco that was handed over by the city to the federal government in 1975.

Yee has asked the city attorney to look into the feasibility of taking back the park if the agency does not comply with the 1975 agreement.

Hikers and dog walkers argue that the threat to the birds and their habitat comes from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which has removed the nonnative ice plant and replaced it with native species.

"San Francisco is the densest urban environment outside of Manhattan. Our dog bite average is 30 to 40 percent less than the national average of 12.9 per 12,000," McKay said, citing statistics from the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control. "We think that's because our dogs are better exercised and socialized than dogs that are forced to be kept on a leash."

Alsup blocked the closure last April, saying the Park Service had failed to allow adequate public comment. In February, he said that the agency had satisfied his objections by holding additional hearings. The GGNRA began fencing off the area shortly after the ruling. On Wednesday, rangers began posting the first of several signs throughout the area. Scott said more will be put up in the future.

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